When you go to buy an album on iTunes, you’re able to listen to a 90-second preview of each track in order to get an idea of the full thing.
A similar feeling happens with Crush Songs, the official debut solo LP from Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O. These songs, recorded several years ago, are all scratchy, breathy sketches and ideas that are far more closed-in and introverted than your typical YYYs affair.
The problem is that when one listens to the aforementioned iTunes previews, there is still more to come. When the songs fade out on Crush Songs, they’re gone for good. You might not have even had a minute with them, and the album’s already onto the next one.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with short songs – Yeah Yeah Yeahs have plenty of ’em, and they’re almost always great. The ideas on Crush Songs, however, allude to something greater and more fleshed-out, which makes the 26-minute runtime all the more disappointing.
It’s an interesting experiment, and one that fans will invariably adore for its rawness and honesty. Perhaps, however, it wouldn’t have hurt to have spent just five minutes more in this world.
3/5.
